Teach Soap

Every winter my husband's hand crack and bleed. I want to make a really moisturizing bar to prevent this from happening. I like the creamy lather I got with lard and thought this would be a good place to start. What oils and butters would you use and %? Or would a 100% olive oil bar be better for him?

MaryLou

My husband's hands also get like that because he works outside. A solid lotion bar does wonders to keep his hands moisturized... Soap not so much because it's a wash off product. You could try a higher superfat soap for winter use, but I think a lotion bar or thick cream would be more beneficial.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Soap is a wash off product. It isn't meant to moisturize. I would use plain mango/shea butter, make a lotion bar, or use a good quality lotion.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Every time I think I get it another question arises. Soap is a wash off product. Then why do we superfat the soap? I thought it was so there would be a little oil left to moisturize the skin. So much more to learn! I just looked up how to make a lotion bar and will make some of those. Is one butter better than the others? Thanks for the info.

MaryLou

I think the main reason to superfat is to make sure that you don't have any lye left in the soap. It's much better to have some unsaponified oils in your soap than to have some free-floating lye.

I do think that some glycerin is left on the skin, which is why handmade soap isn't drying like a bar of Dial.

But soap is, first and formost, a cleaning product.

I'm in love with a hemp seed oil lotion I got at a farmer's market. It is very fast aborbing. what butters and oils you use for a lotion depend on if you want something fast absorbing, or something to coat the skin.

Superfatting is making sure that your soap isn't lye heavy. It makes for a milder bar, but soap does not moisture, it cleans.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I disagree to a point. If you use handmade soap regularly, I have found that the amount of moisturizing you need is cut back by quite a bit. I am not the only one to notice or mention this either, so I do not think it is my imagination. My Mother did not believe me about how good my soap was for a good while. But once she began using it regularly and then ran out, she actually came to me later and said that her skin was more flaky using her regular soap and since she began using my soap she used less of the lotion I had been making for her for years. I also have had clients tell me the same thing.

As for the hubby though, I would use a lotion, salve or body balm in conjunction with the soap recipe of your choice. I personally like avocado, jojoba and meadowfoam in my more moisturizing bars. While it is a wash off product, it still makes a difference what you put on your skin in my opinion. Use your recipe a while and see what you think!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Tammy, You made me feel so much better. After reading the other replies that said soap just cleans and thats all, I asked myself why bother to make soap? Am I wasting my time and money ? Did I misunderstand what soaping was all about? Maybe I should just make lotion bars and forget about making soap. True it is a lot of fun and you can be very creative but I also wanted to do something good for my body. I'm glad that you think it does more than just clean. I'll see what kind of feed back I get from my family. Thanks for the emotional boost.


MaryLou

Homemade soap is great for your skin. It is more moisturizing than the store bought detergent bars. I notice a difference as well! However, I don't think that soap alone will help skin so dry that it is cracked and bleeding. That is probably why there were all the lotion bar suggestions. Personally I would make both for him.

For dry skin or hand I have come up with easy solution and not very costly you can use coconut oil instead of cream in emergency you can go for it.

hemp oil, I have found, is great for cracked, dry skin.

My mom gets dry, cracked bleeding feet. A pedicurist told her that for many people (including the pedicurist herself) that it was actually due to athlete's foot. She suggest a) cleaning your tub shower well and regularly and b) using an athlete's foot product all over the foot. And it really made a difference for my mom.

So I would suggest using some lavender and/or tea tree EO in your soap and in your lotion for him.

If you don't already have stuff to make lotion or lotion bars, you don't necessarily have to buy it. You could add a little EO to some of the oils you have and put them in a Mason jar, if you don't want to buy preservatives, etc to make lotion or special containers for lotion bars. You could use a hard oil like coconut, shea butter or cocoa butter and whip it with some olive, avocado or sweet almond oil. Lard is AWESOME on my dry, scaly elbow (just the left one, the right one is not dry, how weird is that?) but it does make you smell kind of bacony.

In my experience, homemade soap definitely is more moisturizing than most store bought soap, even the stuff like the Dove moisturizing bars. But for a case like your husband's, I think more than just soap is in order!

I would do a bar lower in coconut oil and higher in conditioning oils, just as a start.

If he was willing, you could coat his hands with a heavy duty moisturizer, or even just a generous layer of some sort of oil, then get him to wear latex gloves while it soaks in.

I feel a big difference in homemade soaps vs store bought
for softness.
For cracked skin, I like a basic beeswax and oil salve, but add Lanolin....good stuff

You are welcome and I agree about not using the soap alone for his condition, until and unless you get it all healed up. I make a wonderful balm with a cocoa butter base that does wonders on cracks, I would NOT recommend using coconut oil though. In large amounts it dries the skin and he does not need that.
Much luck in whatever you choose.

ETA: I removed the eo's because they really should not be used on open skin as that could cause a sensitivity.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

His hands are fine now. My thought was to hopefully prevent the problem again this winter. I will make him some lotion bars. The recipes I found do not call for any kind of preservative. Should I use something, if so what would you recommend? How long is a bar good without any preservatives?

MaryLou